Comics as Contemporary Literature

Asterios Polyp is an interesting take on the graphic novel. It's very serious and reads like adult literature, but there are fanciful aspects to it as well. Such as how the comic is narrated by Asterios' dead twin brother, or the ending where a meteor may or may not hit the earth.

I thought the meteor was interesting symbolism for how things can go wrong so fast, but that a positive change can come from it. Dinosaurs were wiped out by a meteor and the after effects of the crash, so obviously the same thing could happen to humans. But I felt that instead of symbolizing destruction, the ending symbolized renewal of life. Asterios realizes his wrongdoings and how he treated his ex-wife, so I saw the ending as a massive change in Asterios' life that he would probably relate to the death of the dinosaurs. Because after the dinosaurs, came humans. And we're pretty cool. We have pizza.

I definitely think graphic novels should be considered a medium of literature. There is so much potential combining art with words, it's a shame that there are people that look down on comics and graphic narratives. I enjoy graphic novels because I feel they have a more cohesive storyline than most comics do (of course comics have changed to be more linear, but I feel graphic novels and comic books have always been structured more closely to prose than plain old comics have been).

In writing, we're taught to show feelings and emotions through words without outright saying what we mean (show don't tell). With graphic novels, comics, and comic books it's so much easier to do that because you have art. You can physically show facial expressions that get a point across, or show the passing of time without mentioning it through dialogue. You can show with an image without having to use words to explain it; the pictures explain themselves.